World | Philippines
Army chief says fight against leftist guerrillas on course
Philippine officials expressed confidence in meeting targets in the drive against insurgency by 2010 as the chief of the military claimed there had been a significant decline in the fighting ability of Communist rebels.
- By Gilbert Felongco, Correspondent
- Published: 23:35 January 10, 2009
Manila: Philippine officials expressed confidence in meeting targets in the drive against insurgency by 2010 as the chief of the military claimed there had been a significant decline in the fighting ability of Communist rebels.
In a speech at the military's general headquarters in suburban Quezon City, General Alexander Yano said the armed forces were gaining the upper hand in the drive against the New People's Army (NPA) and some 25 guerrilla fronts had been dismantled this year.
"We have gained ground against the different security threats by derailing their capabilities to wage [war] and [inflict] damage on life and property," Yano said.
According to him, the armed forces had downgraded the strength of the NPA rebels from 5,761 in 2007 to 5,239 by the end of 2008. The number of Communist guerrilla fronts was also reduced to 62 from 87 in 2007.
"A strength of 5,239 by the end of 2008 is the lowest since the assumption of the presidency of the Gloria Arroyo in 2001 and this is a significant drop from the 25,200 members in 1987," the military chief said.
During the same briefing, armed forces deputy chief of staff for operations Major General Romeo Lustestica said the military aims to clear at least 54 guerrilla fronts this year.
Redeployment
With the significant reduction of the guerrilla presence in the countryside - particularly in the main islands of Luzon and Visayas - the armed forces have been able to deploy more forces in Mindanao and in urban areas, such as Metro Manila.
In northern areas of Metro Manila, such as Malabon, teams of heavily armed soldiers patrol volatile areas where communist insurgents carry out organising activities.
In Mindanao, where a Moro insurgency was raging for more than two decades, government forces had been deployed in significant numbers to check the Abu Sayyaf and elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as well as the NPA.
Yano said the government target to defeat the communist insurgency by 2010 "is feasible". "[Everything] has been thoroughly calculated. The number of firearms [in circulation] also decreased".
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